Garage door construction



Aug. 22, 1939. w. D. FERRIS GARAGE noon conswnucnon Filed May 18, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Aug. 22, 1939. w D, FER I I 2,170,295

GARAGE DOOR CONS TRUCTION Filed May 18, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 22; 1939. w. D. FERRIS GARAGE DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filged May 18, 1958 s sheets-sheet 3 INVENTOR. 2141mm, Zlfihms W AVAV'I/ Patented Aug. 22, 1939 PATENT OFFICE GARAGE DOOR CONS'IBUOTION William D. Ferris, Sterling, 11]., assign'or to Frantl Manufacturing 00., Sterling, 11]., a

corporation of Illinois Application May 18, 1988, Serlal No. 208,624

15 Claims. (CI. 20-18) This invention relates to garage doors, and

more particularly to those that comprise a single rigid rectangular section, having a vertical position in the doorwary, and a substantially horizontal overhead position when the door is open.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and arrangement whereby the said rigid door section may be satisfactorily supported for movement from its vertical or closed position to its horizontal or overhead open position, without the necessity of using certain things heretofore considered necessary for this purpose, such as horizontal tracks and other stationary guiding means, and whereby, at the same time, the door is held rigidly and firmly against sidewise displacement, thus preventing it from binding or rubbing on the sides of the doorway, while. it is being opened or closed.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and novel combinations tending to increase the general efllciency and desirability of a garage door construction of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Flg. 1 is a vertical section of the door in its overhead or open position, the section being taken on a plane inside the doorway, so that the sides of the building are also shown in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail or fragmentary section on line 3-3 in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on line 4-4 in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a different form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing the door in closed position.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing a still different form of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a view'similar to Fig. 7, showing the door in partially closed position.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but on a larger scale, and showing a different form of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, but on a smaller scale, and showing a still different form of the invention, without showing the lowier portions of the arms broken away,

Fig. 11 is a perspective of certain of the adjustable parts shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings by which the brace is made rigid and given the proper tension.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the inven- 6 tion comprises a rigid door section I, rectangular in form, adapted to assume a vertical position in the doorway 2, to close the latter, and to assume an overhead horizontal position when the door is open, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the draw- 10 ings. For this purpose, the lower portion of the door is pivoted at 3 on the arms 4 that are in turn pivoted at 5 on brackets that are secured to the building at opposite sides of the doorway. Springs 6 preferably connect the shorter ends 15 of these lever arms with points I on the building, so that these springs assist in raising the door into its horizontal or overhead open position, and serve to cushion the downward or closing movement of the door. To support the top 20 portion of the door, when the latter is in its horizontal or open position, relatively long arms 8 are provided which are pivoted at their lower ends at 9 on the building, and which have their upper ends pivoted at ill on brackets ll, secured to the 25 door. The arms 8 are preferably made of channel iron and each have an upper section I! that are slidable up and down in the lower section, suitable holes and bolts l3 being provided to hold the two sections in adjusted position, so that 30 the proper length of the arm may be determined and then fixed by the tightening of the bolts.

To prevent sidewise or lateral displacement of the door, each upper arm section I! is preferably provided with a brace I 4 that is rigidly 5 but adjustably secured in place by a bolt l5, and that has its upper end pivoted at It on the bracket ll secured to the cross bar 34. It will be seen that the pivotal points It and it are quite widely spaced apart, so that a lateral bracing 4o eifect is obtained, to prevent lateral displacement or sidewise lurching of the door while it is moving up and down in the doorway, thereby to prevent the door from rubbing or binding on the sides of the doorway. Preferably, a bracket 45 I8 is secured to each arm section l2, adjustably, by a bolt I9, and an adjusting bolt 20 connects this bracket with the lower end of the brace l4, so that the latter may be tightened in a manner to center the door in the doorway and maintain 50 it in such position. The brace l4, in other words, forms an adjustable element for maintaining the door in accurate position relatively to the doorway, after the two braces l4 are made absolutely rigid with the two sections I2, and the latter 5 have been made absolutely rigid with the lower arm sections 8, in the manner shown and described.

In Figs. 5 and 6, the construction is similar to that previously described, but in this case the bottom portion of the door is supported by arms 2| that do not form levers, inasmuch as the springs 22, one at each side of the doorway, are connected between the brackets 23 to which the lower ends of the said arms are pivoted, and the adjustable supports 24 on the door. The relatively long arms 25 and their adjustable braces are similar to the arms 8 and the braces ll previously described.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the invention is similar to that previously described, but in this case the springs 26 are connected at their upper ends to cords 21, and at their lower ends to the adjustable supports 28 on the building, said cords being arranged to travel over sheaves 29, mounted on the door, and the upper ends of'the cords being attached to the brackets 30, to which the arms 3| are pivotally connected. The other ends of these arms are pivoted on the brackets 32 that are fixed on the building. In Figs. 7 and 8, the relatively long arms 33 and their oblique braces are the same as those previously described.

Thus, it will be seen that no overhead tracks, or other guiding means, commonly used, are necessary in the construction and use of the invention shown and described, and that at the same time, by means of the braces ll, the door is held, in each form of the invention shown and described, against lateral displacement, so that it is prevented from rubbing or binding on the sides of the doorway, during the movement of the door into its overhead open position, or into its vertical closed position. Said braces are ad- ,iustable, to exactly position the door laterally in the plane thereof, and when these braces are tightened and all of the joints are properly made and located, the door is substantially as free from lateral displacement in the plane thereof, as are the doors that require more or less extensive overhead tracks or other guiding means to hold them in position.

Preferably, a cross beam 34 is secured to the back of the door, with its ends projecting beyond the side edges of the door, for supporting the pivots of the upper ends of the long arms. Thus the latter are not in the same vertical plane as the short arms, and the braces H are out of the way and not liable to injure the top of the car. Or these braces might be reversed, with the braces outside, or turned upside down with the braces outside. Various changes and modifications may obviously be made, therefore, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In Figs. 9 and 11, the construction is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, but in this case the long arm 35 is vertical for the greater portion of the length thereof, so that it is outside the vertical plane of the side edge of the door 38, but the upper portion 31 of this arm is bent inwardly to pivot at 38 on the door. The brace 39 is similar to the brace l4 shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings and is pivoted at its upper end on the bracket III that is secured directly to the door, and is rigidly secured by bolts ll at its lower end to the vertical portion of the arm 35 previously mentioned. The adjusting device 42 is similar to the one shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, and does not need any further description. The portion 31 of each long arm may be integral with the body portion 35 of the long arm, or it may be formed separately and bolted thereto, by bolts 43, as indicated in Fig. 9 of the drawings. In this way, as shown in Figs. 9 and 11, the cross beam 34, previously described, is not necessary, as the bifurcated upper end of each long arm is pivoted directly on the door, or on brackets secured directly to the door, in the manner shown. This is because the lower or vertical body portion of each long arm is offset relatively to its upper or inclined portion I1, in the manner shown and described.

As shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings, the construction is similar to that previously described, but in this case the relatively long arms 44 are pivoted on the building at 45, at their lower ends, and converge upwardly, so that their upper ends are pivoted at 46 on the cross beam 41 similar to the beam 34 previously described. This gives clearance between the two long arms, for the motor vehicle, and each long arm has its upper end portion provided with a rigid brace 48, and in this case the brace is on the outer side of the arm, instead of on the inside thereof. The brace 48 is pivoted at 49 on a bracket secured to the outer end portion of the beam 41, and the lower end portion of the brace has an adlusting device 50 similar to those previously described.

Thus, in each form of the invention, the relatively long arms are provided with rigid braces, which are preferably at the upper ends of the arms, and these braces are pivoted on the door structure in alignment with the pivots of the upper ends of the arms themselves. In each form of the invention the brace, while rigid with its allotted arm, is adjustable to accurately position the door laterally, in the plane thereof, relatively to the doorway. Thus, in each form of the invention, lateral displacement of the door, in the plane thereof, is effectively prevented, in a structure that requires no overhead tracks or similar guiding means, and which is comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and easy to install.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A garage door comprising one rigid section having a vertical closed position and a horizontal overhead open position, a pivot carried by the door, a supporting arm engagin said pivot, another pivot carried by the door, a brace connecting said arm with the second pivot, the latter being axially aligned with the first pivot, transversely of the door, and means for pivoting the other end of said arm on a stationary support.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, having a similar arm and brace pivoted on the door in axial alignment with said pivots, so that the two arms are at opposite sides of the doorway.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, having means on the arm for adjusting said' brace lengthwise of the arm.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, having a similar arm and brace pivoted on the door in axial alignment with said pivots, so that the two arms are at opposite sides of the doorway, and a pair of spring controlled pivoted lever arms for guiding the lower end of the door, also pivoted on the latter, and held by said braces against lateral displacement with the door in overhead position.

5. A structure as specified in claim 1, said brace being on the inner side of said arm.

6. A structure as specified in claim 1, said brace being on the outer side of said arm.

7. A structure as specified in claim 1, said pivots being directly on the back of the door, between the side edges thereof.

8. A structure as specified in claim 1, having a cross beam on the back of the door, projecting beyond the side edges of the latter, and said pivots being on the end portions of said beam.

-9. A structure as specified in claim 1, said brace being rigid witth said arm.

10. In a garage door construction, a door comprising one rigid section having a vertical closed position and an overhead open position, a. pivot carried on the inner side of said door, a supporting arm engaging said pivot, a brace at one side of said arm, connected to the latter at its lower end and to the door at its upper end, when the door is in its open position, to hold the door against lateral displacement in the plane thereof, means for pivotally mounting the other end of said arm on a stationary support, and a pivot for the upper end of said brace, on said door.

11.. A structure as specified in claim 10, having a similar arm and brace at the inner side of the door, the two arms and their respective braces being at opposite sides of the doorway.

12. A structure as specified in claim 10, said brace being fastened on the inner side of the upper portion of said arm.

. 13. A structure as specified in claim 10, and means on the arm for rigidly tightening said brace in adjusted position thereon.

14. A structure as specified in claim 10, said brace being fastened on the outer side of the upper portion of said arm.

15. A structure as specified in claim 10, having pivoted spring controlled means for guiding the lower end of the door, also pivoted on the latter. and held by said braces against lateral displacement with the door in overhead position.

WIILIAM D. FERRIS. 

